Consociational Power Sharing Key Authors Arend Lijphart Typologies

Consociational Power Sharing • Key Authors – Arend Lijphart: • ‘Typologies of Democratic Systems’, Comparative Political Studies, 1968 • The Politics of Accommodation: Pluralism and Democracy in the Netherland, 1968 • Democracy in Plural Societies, 1977 – John Mc. Garry and Brendan O’Leary • Northern Ireland: Consociational Engagements (2004)

Lijphart: Features of consociational systems • Grand coalition government (between parties from different segments of society) • Segmental autonomy (in the cultural sector) • Proportionality (in the voting system and in public sector employment) • Minority veto

Mc. Garry & O’Leary’s Revisions • Grand coalition (in the sense of an executive encompassing all leaders of all significant parties of all significant communities) is not a necessary criterion • What matters is meaningful cross-community executive power sharing in which each significant segment is represented in the government with at least plurality levels of support within its segment

Mc. Garry & O’Leary: Liberal consociations • Liberal consociationalists favour – parliamentary systems – proportional (PR list) or proportional preferential (STV) electoral systems – decision-making procedures that require qualified and/or concurrent majorities – establishment and enforcement of strong human and minority rights regimes – independent and representative constitutional court

Mc. Garry & O’Leary: Success Criteria • For consociational settlements to work for ethnic conflicts, three fundamental conditions are required: – Integration or assimilation of the respective other group must not be on the agenda of either of the ethnic groups in conflict with each other in the short or medium term – Successive elites must be motivated to work for the preservation of the consociational settlement – Elites themselves must enjoy a sufficient degree of autonomy within their communities enabling them to make compromises and concessions without having to fear outbidding and outflanking by ethno-centric radicals.